Caught
by Lunar-L
Summary: Gabriel is forced to make an in person appearance to his son's school. When he arrives, both Adrien and his classmate seem very embarrassed and everyone else is desperately trying to hold in their laughter as the two teens try desperately to deny the obvious implications.
1. Part 1

I read Sinfulpapillon's ficlet Empathy over on AO3 and had a mighty need to write from Gabe's POV.

* * *

 **Caught**

"I apologise for my lateness, but I was not expecting to have to be here _in person_ ," Gabriel said in lieu of a greeting as he entered Principal Damocles office without knocking, "I was analysing the result of my latest work. What have I missed?"

Taking in his surroundings for the first time, he noted Adrien and one of his female classmates sitting in the two chairs which sat directly in front of the Principal's desk. The girl (which he realised was that infatuated fan of his son's which had admitted to taking his book earlier in the year) kept glancing uncomfortably between the two snickering adults he presumed were her parents sitting next to her and Adrien himself.

The boy appeared quite uncomfortable too, but the thing which caught his attention the most was Nathalie. Standing off to one side of the room, her tablet which she had tried to use to video call him into the discussion clamped tightly against her chest, her shoulders were shaking in silent laughter and her was mouth twisted as she unsuccessfully attempted to keep a straight face.

He cocked an eyebrow at the lack of her usual stoic demeanour and moved to sit in the empty seat beside Adrien, who kept his head low and refused to look at him.

"Clearly, I _have_ missed something. Can someone reveal to me what is going on?"

To Gabriel's shock, Adrien _whined._ Actually whined.

"Ah yes, Mr Agreste _,_ glad you could make it," said the Principal, looking slightly embarrassed himself, "As I'm sure you're aware we have very strict policies on how students can, um, _fraternise_ with one another on school grounds-" the young girl threw her face into her hands at his words, "-and I'm afraid your son and Miss Dupain-Cheng here were caught in direct violation of them."

The large man sitting beside the girl, Mr Dupain-Cheng it seemed, gave a loud hoot of laughter as both teens sunk lower in their seats, faces warming in sheer humiliation.

"Furthermore," continued Principal Damocles, "They then attempted to lie about their reasons for being found in a cramped janitor's closet together over lunch."

"I see," said Gabriel, eyeing Adrien with intrigue.

"Marinette and I were trying to hide from the akuma," he mumbled, uncomfortable under his scrutiny,

"There was a window. So we could escape if it came after us," Marinette added from behind her hands.

"The akuma?" he asked sceptically, "I thought it only got close to the school right before it was stopped."

"It did," laughed Mr Dupain-Cheng, glancing at him over the top of his grinning wife's head, "we saw Ladybug and Chat Noir finish the fight in front of the bakery."

"Just in time too," added Mrs Dupain-Cheng, "From all the beeping, it sounded like they were about to lose the secret in secret identity."

"Not to mention-" Gabriel's eyes snapped back to the Principal again- "the mentioned window is too high for anyone to get in or out through. The janitor found them inside and he had been nearby the door for over ten minutes. He assures me they did not go in while he was there so they must have already been inside..."

"Which is sometime before there would have been any perceived danger," Gabriel finished for him.

"Father, I-"

"Adrien," he interrupted, "I sincerely hope this was not just some frivolous act of rebellion."

"What? No! We-"

"I am only going to ask this once," he said, noticing that the Dupain-Cheng girl had finally emerged from behind her hands to watch the discussion with fascination, "Do you like this girl?"

He watched with a smirk as the boy's eyes widened exponentially and he whipped his head around to make eye contact with her. Marinette's face darkened the longer he stared but she seemed determined not to look away.

"Yes," Adrien finally answered, his voice trembling a little with the intensity of the emotions behind his words.

Once again, the renowned fashion designer observed the teenage girl sitting next to his son as she let out a small squeak before taking a deep breath and showing a shy smile.

"Good. In that case, Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng, my son and I would like to invite you and your daughter to join us for dinner this evening."

"That would be wonderful Mr Agreste," Marinette's mother said, "Though, please call us Tom and Sabine. We'll bring something for dessert."

Gabriel nodded. "Come along Adrien," he said as he rose from his chair.

"Ah, the topic of punishment-" Principal Damocles began.

"Can most effectively be dealt with at home, I believe," Gabriel said before he strode from the room, Adrien and Nathalie towing along behind him. As they walked he could hear the Dupain-Chengs saying their goodbyes to a stuttering Principal Damocles, who was clearly at a loss as to how to regain control of the situation.

"When we return home, ensure your room is clean and tidy," he said to the boy now trotting to catch up to his longer strides so he could walk beside him, "After all I'm sure it's a much more preferable place to entertain Miss Dupain-Cheng than a janitor's closet, is it not?"

* * *

It case it wasn't obvious, the two of them were caught immediately after finding out their identities, so they have had no time to discuss it or the fact that they're actually in love with one another.


	2. Part 2

This was commissioned by LazyWorkaholic on AO3, who bought me coffee at my ko-fi page, LunarPIP

* * *

"It's surprising it's even taken this long for us to realise these two are together," Marinette heard her mother say from her seat on Mr Agreste's left.

"Mamam!" she hissed from her seat beside Adrien, fork pushing pieces of her food around her plate to mask the fact that she'd barely eaten any of it. She'd used the same trick for the Hors-d'oeuvres and entrée too and she was starting to realise Adrien was already wise to it as he glanced at her. His eyebrows were pulled together in concern and he continued to stare until he heard his father clear his throat on his own left side. She watched as he turned to regard him.

"I have to agree Mrs- I mean Sabine," Mr Agreste said, quickly catching himself before her mother gave him another light-hearted scolding for being so formal with her, "I have had some...suspicions in the past about what Adrien does when he sneaks away, but this makes a great deal more sense."

Both teens flushed heavily and Adrien even dropped his head slightly as Marinette's papa'slaughter boomed out across the table.

"Marinette sneaks out too sometimes," he said, "we wondered why because we've never been particularly strict about letting her go out with friends. She's a teenager, you know? She needs freedom."

There was a yelping noise and Marinette winced a little as she looked at her papa's face. He was looking pained whilst her maman glared at him in obvious anger. Knowing her parents as she did, her maman had just kicked him under the table for not being subtle enough.

Glancing at the boy beside her, Marinette noticed the worried glint in his eyes as they flicked between his father and hers. He clearly realised that the last comment had been for his benefit rather than a passing remark, and now he was worried about how his father would take it.

"Yes, well...Perhaps now that I am aware of the new...circumstances, I will evaluate Adrien's schedule and see if we can pull back on some of his extra-curricular activities-" Mr Agreste regarded Adrien as he spoke- "Provided, of course, that I am aware of the company he keeps?"

"Yes, father," Adrien said in response, blushing and Marinette wondered if it was from embarrassment or sudden relief at his lightened workload.

"Although, please be _careful_ ," he said, emphasising his last word as he looked from Adrien to her and back again, "I'm far too young to be a grandfather yet."

"Oh God," Marinette groaned before reaching forward and grabbing her wine glass, draining the whole thing in one swallow.

* * *

Neither of them managed to relax for the remainder of the meal and by the time the cheese course had arrived the adults had abandoned subtle teasing and were now openly asking humiliating questions. She felt particularly bad for her (Crush? Partner? Kitty?) friend though when her mother made a comment in Chinese which she couldn't translate and then winked at him as his skin coloured enough to remind her of a sunset.

But the icing- the icing on the terribly embarrassing cake was when Gabriel Agreste, fashion icon and her career idol, had chuckled and asked her -point blank- if she thought his son was a good kisser. Naturally, she'd given an involuntary squeak in response and despite her impeccable manners up to now, had responded by crossing her arms over the table and resting her forehead against them. She had been forced to leave her face hanging over the edge of the table to avoid overheating from the rush of blood and within seconds she had spotted Adrien's hand hovering close to her knee. Her body had tensed as he reached out as if to touch her, but his hand had only hovered and not quite made contact. Almost as if he wanted to comfort her but wasn't sure if he was going to make things worse or not.

"Adrien," his father said, and Marinette lifted her head just enough to see he was smirking, "Why don't you show Marinette your room? The adults would like to talk for a while and I'm not sure she'll survive some of it."

She groaned loudly and she knew her father's laughs would haunt her for at least the next year if she didn't find something to hold over him in return. She tensed when she felt strong hands on her shoulders but she allowed Adrien to guide her upright before gently pushing her forward and guiding her from the dining room.

After all, her face was far too occupied with the heels of her palms to navigate for herself right now.


	3. Part 3

"I'm soooo sorry Adrien," Marinette mumbled from behind her hands as he finally closed the door to his room behind them, "My parents are like a dog with a bone, they just won't leave it alone."

"It wasn't just them," he said with a groan, "Please, feel free to find a piece of furniture to curl up on and die. I know I plan to do the same."

Tapping into his dramatic flair he usually only displayed as Chat, Adrien walked over to his couch, flinging himself over the back and settling face down on the cushions. Plagg barely escaped his shirt before he landed, now openly laughing at his young charge before disappearing -presumably to his trash can.

Adrien was beyond mortified already and at this point, he doubted even Plagg could make things worse. The entire dinner had been nothing but teasing comments from the Dupain-Chengs and well-timed smirks from his father and he had not coped well at all. It would have been hard to deal with, even without a witness, but having a friend be present and included in the humiliation was very, very bad. And having that friend be Marinette was awful. This was _his Lady_. The girl he was desperately in love with and who had been very explicit in telling him that she was not interested time and time again. Honestly, he just wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

There was a sudden sound and Adrien frowned into his couch cushion for a moment as he tried to identify it, before lifting his head when he realised it was Marinette giggling to herself. He hauled himself up by the side of the couch to watch her as she doubled over, tears beginning to stream down her face. Considering how to voice his muted confusion and concern, he made his way over to her.

"Are you...okay?" he asked.

She didn't answer for a few moments as she struggled to smother her laughter, turning around and sitting on the edge of his bed as she caught her breath. Her kwami phased through her bag as he watched and she too tittered with laughter at him, her little nub hands covering her mouth in an attempt to hide it. He waved at her awkwardly and she returned the gesture happily before diving into his trash can to catch up with Plagg. Probably they would have a lot of fun laughing at the two of them. Shaking his head, Adrien turned back to Marinette, who appeared to have caught her breath, but was still giggling a little, clearly struggling to stop completely.

"That-" she gestured wildly at the couch, "-was so... _extra_."

"Yeah, well..." he said, sitting beside her on the bed with a smile and a sigh, "I just found out my dad has a talent for embarrassing me in new and unusual ways."

"Please, that was nothing. My parents had barely warmed up. They tease me all the time."

"Yeah? Not about me though, so I think this is..."

He trailed off as her giggles ended abruptly and she gave a squeak before falling silent. He glanced over at her. She had pulled her shoulders up and was nibbling on her lower lip, looking uncomfortable and awkward. Slowly, her eyes trailed over to look at him shyly. Adrien's jaw dropped fast enough to hurt.

"They tease you about _me_?" he said, "Why?"

And just as suddenly, shy Marinette was gone. In her place sat Ladybug and _that_ would take some getting used to. Right now she was looking at him exactly as she did when he'd told a particularly awful joke during an attack and she was contemplating whether or not to throw her yo-yo at his head. Her head was tilted a little, her mouth narrowed, her eyebrow cocked and she was somehow rolling her eyes at him without actually moving them. A talent that no one else he knew had.

He thought about it for a second, trying to work out why her parents would tease her about him. It didn't take long for him to start smiling.

"Really?" he said and watched in delight as she went back to being shy, her gaze dropping to her lap and a small smile gracing her lips.

"I meant what I said," he told her, "You know, when I...answered father in Mr Damocles office."

Her smile grew until she couldn't help but flash her teeth at him and he was sure his heart was beating hard enough that she could hear it. He felt so excited and yet so utterly relaxed.

At least until she fell backwards to the bed, her legs hanging over the edge and arms flung out either side of her. He glanced down at her as her eyes closed and she gave off another adorable giggle.

"It's been a long day," she said, still smiling, "I don't really have the energy to process this and stay upright."

He smirked, a small flush making its way across the bridge of his nose as he lay down on his side next to her, propping his head upon his arm to look at her face as she opened her eyes at his movements.

"Do you need a _cat_ nap?"

She playfully shoved at his chest in mock annoyance and Adrien was able to revel in the gasp she gave as he grabbed the hand she used, holding it to him instead of letting her pull away.

Her eyes were impossibly blue and he mentally berated himself for not noticing the similarities to Ladybug's eyes before. They were remarkable, a bright clear ocean of colour with a dark ring around the edge, which added definition to just how light her irises were. He would happily get lost in those eyes any day.

He gently ran his thumb across the space beneath her eyes without quite knowing when he had first reached out to touch her, finding it didn't matter. Tracing the skin where her mask would have met her face, he encountered a stray lock of dark hair and followed it, sliding his fingers into the rest to caress the soft tresses.

He moved slowly, watching her for uneasiness at all times, but when Marinette raised her hands in response and began to stroke his hair, her eyelids fluttering closed, he followed suit, closing the gap between them and hesitantly brushing his lips against hers.

Adrien had always hoped his first kiss wouldn't be an awkward occasion but had long suspected it was going to be regardless of what he wanted. And he had never been so glad to be wrong in his life.

The kiss was absolute heaven but it didn't last long. He had barely pressed his own lips against hers before he pulled back, suddenly anxious and shy about her reaction and sure his face was burning with the heat of the blood rushing to it. He watched her blink up at him with half-lidded eyes before the hands tangled in his hair pulled him down to meet her again. She sighed against his mouth and Adrien's heart beat so hard he feared Marinette could hear it -or feel it, considering that they were pressed against each other, his chest flush against hers. He might have coloured further if he wasn't already at his blushing limits.

After a few minutes, he pulled back and they both took in the much-needed air of the room around them, both still clutching at the other's hair as if afraid they might disappear if they let go.

"My Lady?" he said, "Princess? Marinette?"

She chuckled at his use of nicknames and placed a gentle peck against his mouth before answering.

"Yes, Kitty?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Of course," she said, smiling widely and giggling like the schoolgirl she was, "It's not like we can let our parents down now, after they went to so much trouble embarrassing us."

Adrien would take all the embarrassment in the world if it meant more evenings like this one.

* * *

So here's the end of this little mini-fic. Obviously there's more for them after this; they need to talk about identities properly, they need to officially meet the kwamis and when the friends find out there'll be hell to pay, but I don't feel like covering all of that. Feel free to imagine these things as you want.


End file.
